SBC’s Richard Land applauds passage of smoking prevention and tobacco control bill
- Jun 12, 2009 - 3
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, applauded today’s passage of the “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act” by the House of Representatives by a 307-97 vote.
The bill, which gives the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products, was approved yesterday by the Senate in a 79-17 roll call and is now headed to President Barack Obama’s desk.
“The passage of this legislation is the culmination of a long-term effort by the ERLC and many other groups to bring greater regulation to the tobacco industry,” said Dr Land.
“Approximately 400,000 Americans a year die directly from the usage of tobacco products. It’s a scandal that the industry has been virtually unregulated until now. The Southern Baptist Convention passed its first resolution calling for government regulation of tobacco in the 1930s. Over the passage of time, hundreds of thousands of American lives will be saved because of the approval of this legislation.”
The Southern Baptist Convention is America’s largest non-Catholic denomination with more than 16.2 million members in over 44,000 churches nationwide. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is the SBC’s ethics, religious liberty and public policy agency with offices in Nashville, Tenn., and Washington, D.C.
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1 On Jun 21st, 2009, at 11:35pm, Philip wrote:
Paul was referring to sexual immorality in his letter to the church in Corinth - not tobacco. Read: 1 Corinthians 6:18-20. Far too often, Christians attempt to use a small portion of this spcripture passage as a means to promote their own personal agenda against moderate tobacco use.
2 On Jul 1st, 2009, at 10:11am, Karen wrote:
I agree, Philip. It is not what goes into the mouth that defileth the man…but what comes out. Why is smoking worse for the body than eating Cheetos, hamburgers, or sugar snacks? More people die annually due to obesety problems than smoke-related issues. The key is moderation in all, as Paul also wrote.
3 On Jul 27th, 2009, at 3:06pm, russ wrote:
I disagree, Karen. My view is this, smoking like drinking is just simply not needed in our community. and like drinking you can say that you are a social drinker and a moderate tobacco user but the reality is that partaking in either one you endanger more than just yourself and I hardly think that Cheetos, hamburgers, or sugar snacks are that destructive. I used to raise tobacco and God has shown me that I was contributing to its destructive power and He corrected me for it and made me see that I was the problem and I had to repent of it.